Stars come back from two-goal deficit
Associated Press
ST. PAUL — Loui Eriksson had a goal and two assists and the Dallas Stars overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Down 3-1 late in the second period, Dallas tied it on goals by James Neal and Brad Richards, then took the lead when Eriksson tipped Stephane Robidas’ shot for the winner with 7 minutes to play. It was Eriksson’s team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Eric Belanger had goal and an assist for the Wild, who twice had apparent goals disallowed in the game.
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Neal had a pair of goals for Dallas as the Stars won for just the second time in their last eight games. It was the third multipoint game of the season for Belanger.
Neal got Dallas on the board first, converting after a cross-ice pass from Eriksson. Neal has three goals in the four games he’s played since returning from a five-game stint in the minors. Minnesota answered just 68 seconds later when Belanger scored off the rebound of a Brent Burns shot.
After Owen Nolan and Andrew Brunette scored to give Minnesota a two-goal lead in the second period, the Wild appeared to take a 4-1 lead on a power play shot by Mikko Koivu. Referee Tom Kowal emphatically signaled goal after the puck sailed over the left shoulder of Stars goaltender Marty Turco and hit the crossbar. The officials spent more than five minutes reviewing video of the play before Kowal ruled no goal, saying the puck had not crossed the goal line.
Neal recorded his first career multigoal game late in the middle period, swatting the rebound of his own shot out of mid-air in front of the Wild net. Early in the third period Minnesota appeared to take a 4-2 lead on another Koivu shot, but the net had come off its moorings, negating the play.
Turco had 25 saves in the win for Dallas, which won for the first time this season while trailing after two periods. Niklas Backstrom had 26 saves for Minnesota.
• Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen, who had been a healthy scratch for the previous two games, was back in the lineup on Wednesday. ... Minnesota’s first period penalty for a faceoff violation was the team’s first such infraction since Dec. 10, 2002. ... Since moving from the Twin Cities to Dallas in 1993, the Stars are now 8-6-1 in games played in Minnesota. ... Dallas winger Sean Avery played in his 400th career game on Wednesday. ... Minnesota is in the midst of a stretch in which the Wild play eight of nine games at home.
